The USAF is planning a trip to Mars. While this has some beautiful visuals, once they're on the way, the usual stuff happens. One guy gets killed during EVA, the Colonel (one of the characters fathers) becomes a religious nut who nearly kills them all, and this version of Mars is way off. (For a better version see Robinson Crusoe on Mars), but it's still worth seeing. I can only wonder what Pal would have done with an A budget.

During the 1950s, Hollywood made a ton of films about voyages to the Moon or Mars. Most of these films look very quaint and old fashioned when seen today, but you must allow for the fact that they simply couldn't produce the grand special effects we take for granted in more modern films. Plus, while the way the trips occur seem pretty strange compared to the actual moon landings, you must also allow that back in the 1950s it was still all speculation--they simply didn't know better about many of the important aspects of such a journey.However, despite some very old fashioned ideas about such a voyage, CONQUEST OF SPACE is a very good film for its day. Much of this is because unlike most of the other films of the genre, this one does not use stock clips of old V-2 launches and features all original rocket and space shots. Sure, the models in this production are a bit on the cheesy side, but you can tell they at least tried to get it right. In particular, what I founds interesting is that they used a space shuttle-like craft to go to Mars--not a more traditional rocket.The film was also interesting because instead of the traditional bug-eyed monsters or malevolent external forces like some films employed, the big nemesis of this film is space fatigue and mental illness caused by this exhaustion. The only negative about this was later in the film when the general obviously was insane due to these effects and yet his best friend so doggedly refused to admit it--even when the guy did everything but put on a hat and declare that he was Napoleon!! The only other thing that bothered me about the film is that like some of these types of films, there was a crazy notion that the film needed a comic relief crew member (Siegel). While not an uncommon plot device, you'd sure think that the Earth with its billions of people would have someone better and smarter than him!! Overall, an excellent film for people like me who like this genre, though I can pretty safely assume that many people today would not be particularly interested in the film. It's a shame, as it's an interesting glimpse into the 1950s.

My stars, this is the most effeminate sci-fi I've ever seen. Hardly a scene where there isn't some excuse for the astronauts to touch each other tenderly. Several times big, strapping Sgt. Mahoney offers a cup of tea to the others, and Fodor's tearful reaction when viewing a message from his mother (and I think she was the only woman in the movie). When Barney Merritt had to subdue the General, his father, he knocks dad over and lays on top of him quite a while, even after the General is shot. Pretty light in the space boots if you ask me.BTW - An actor of Chinese heritage is portraying a Japanese character and why was it allowable, in General Merritt's mind, to go to the moon but not to go to Mars?

Although the religious stuff seems unnecessary, the rest "Conquest of Space" is pretty neat. Portraying a manned mission to Mars getting jeopardized by the captain's views, it's mostly the same as any sci-fi flick from that era. True, some of the special effects probably look primitive to us in the 21st century, but we have to respect them for what they are. I try to imagine how horny the men in that spaceship would have to be, being kept away from women for so long; no wonder they went kinda wild when they saw the one guy's hubby on the TV hookup.If I ever see it again, I'll have to pay attention to which character is Sanella, who was played by Vito Scotti. Vito Scotti appeared on seemingly every TV show during the 1960s, so he should be identifiable.